Pakistani police officials examine the bullet-riddled car of a slain government prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar after an attack by gunmen in Islamabad on May 3, 2013. (AFP Photo / Aamir Qureshi) / AFP

A Pakistani state murder prosecutor working on the assassination case of former PM Benazir Bhutto, has been shot dead in Islamabad. Anonymous gunmen intercepted Chaudhry Zulfiqar’s car in a middle-class neighborhood, riddling it with bullets.

Zulfiqar had been driving to an anti-terrorism court to a
hearing related to Bhutto’s death when the attack took place. The
gunmen approached in a taxi and opened fire, hitting him in the
head, shoulder and chest, police officer Mohammed Ishaq told
AP.

The injuries Zulfiqar sustained caused him to lose control of
his vehicle, hitting a female passer-by and killing her in the
process.

Zulfiqar’s guard, Farman Ali, returned fire at the assailants,
wounding one and sustaining injuries himself. Questions were
subsequently raised as to why only one security guard was riding
with Zulfiqar in the car.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital, and his remains
have been taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences
hospital in the city for further examination. A massive search is
underway to track down the identities of the gunmen, who fled
immediately following the incident.

Bhutto was murdered in December 2007, after speaking as leader
at a Pakistan People’s Party rally, when rounds of bullets were
fired at her shortly before a suicide blast next to her vehicle.
The attack took place two weeks before the 2008 Pakistani General
Election, in which she was the leading opposition candidate.

Zulfiqar acted as a public prosecutor in the high-profile case,
and has repeatedly confirmed high court rulings and the issuance of
arrest warrants to the press.

Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, currently under house
arrest on the outskirts of Islamabad, stands accused of being
complicit in the murder of Benazir Bhutto and not providing her
with enough security after she expressed fear for her life. He is
also being held over his detention of high court judges in
2007.

Musharraf returned to Pakistan in March to contest the election
on May 11, amid death threats from the Pakistani Taliban. In
mid-April he was banned from standing as a candidate, crushing his
ambition to re-enter public life. His arrest warrant was issued
shortly afterwards.

It was confirmed that the hearing for the Bhutto case that
Zulfiqar was en route to also pertained to Musharraf. Musharraf
maintains that the Pakistani Taliban were the sole group behind
Bhutto’s death.

Zulfiqar additionally headed the prosecution in a case relating
to the 2008 bombings and shootings that rocked Mumbai, killing 166.
Ajmal Kasab, the sole surviving attacker, confirmed that the 12
coordinated attacks across the city were carried out by a Pakistani
militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, before he was hanged.

India has criticized Pakistan for not doing more to crack down
on the militant group as a whole. Seven men have been put on trial
for their alleged assistance in the attacks, but little progress
has been made and the head of the group remains free.